Independence Day
Richard Ford · b. 1944 · United States
Why it matters
A divorced real estate agent drives his troubled teenage son on a July Fourth road trip to sports halls of fame, hoping to repair what he can't quite name. Ford's Frank Bascombe sequel became the first novel to win both the Pulitzer and the PEN/Faulkner Award.
At a glance
psychological novel
Difficulty 6/10slow pace451 pagesLong, meditative interior digression slows an otherwise simple holiday plot.
Deep dive
Frank Bascombe's road trip is almost incident-free by design — this entry is about why the plotlessness is the point, and what finally cracks it open.
